He's A Keeper
by Momo Cicerone
Summary: In which Natsu and Lucy are getting married and Wedding Grinch slash MOH Juvia is left with the tedious job of helping organize the ceremony. But before she loses her shit and starts setting everything on fire, comes best man Gray to her rescue.[EDO GRUVIA] [Multi-chap] [Modern!AU]
1. Dressed up

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot.

**Rating:** T for Terrible Language and perhaps slightly sexually suggestive themes in the future.

**Summary: **In which Natsu and Lucy are getting married and Wedding Grinch slash MOH Juvia is left with the tedious job of helping organize the ceremony, but before she loses her shit and starts setting everything on fire, comes best man Gray to her rescue.[EDO GRUVIA] [Multi-chap]

**A/N:** No, I didn't plan this. Yes, I have more. I don't know, maybe I'll never finish. I listed Earth Gruvia so that Gruvia shippers that don't check the Edo category can find this but this is an EDOLAS fic. If it bothers anyone let me know and I'll change it.

**Dedicated to: **My waifu **Mizune** who became the Gray to my Juvia (And you will see hints of your take on his personality in this too, because I just fell in love with your Gray.)

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**Chapter 1**

* * *

It all started with an innocent question, one she didn't delve into and agreed to a little too flippantly, which she ended up regretting bitterly afterwards.

"Would you be my maid of honor?" Lucy asked, and there were freaking tears in her eyes when she said the words. Like, emotional moisture droplets threatening to fall down because yes, she was getting married, and yes, she was marrying her best friend slash torture victim.

So Juvia twitched uncomfortably at the sudden emotional outburst of her normally cold and blunt friend, and she was fast to utter a quick, "Sure. Yes." two words that doomed her to a living hell for the next couple of months.

She hated weddings, she totally did. There was nothing appealing about all the vomit-inducing, blindingly shiny decorations, the overwhelming amount of awful-looking flowers arrangements that killed your sense of smell, or the pretentiously tiny appetizers that would leave you starving all the same (unless you want to look like the personification of gluttony and finish the whole trail by yourself). So when Lucy came to her the next week with a checklist of duties for a Maid of Honor, she had to blink twice and ask if she heard wrong.

_Duties_? What _duties_? Since when was there a scripted list of obligations –and a pretty long one, she must say– that a maid of honor had to fulfill?_Assist the bride with all wedding related shopping? Help organize hair and makeup of the bridesmaids? Plan and host the bridal shower and bachelorette party?_And the list went on and on and on…

It was bad enough that she absolutely loathed everything related to weddings, but to think that she had to actually help organize the whole wicked event, it made her light-headed with an urge to puke.

Because Lucy couldn't be fucking serious, she couldn't possibly expect her to actually help with that stuff. Lucy knew that wasn't her thing at all, and if she needed a wedding planner she should probably ask Mirajane.

But her friend was dead serious.

When she missed the first appointment because she returned too late from her mission, she received a call from a very indignant Lucy, who howled at her for being the worst friend in existence and demanded that she go try her gown the next day. She had to bite her tongue and swallow back a few insults, and instead of telling her that she didn't ask for any of this and she could go fuck herself, she mumbled a half-hearted apology and promised she would be there, come hell or high water.

Hell came in the form of Gray Surge, and it took her a whole fucking hour to explain to him why she needed his help to take her to the boutique (As she was the only one who missed the appointment last time, and none of the girls would go with her, fucking traitors), and that _no,_ it wasn't a date.

Her day didn't get any better after they arrived at the shop and the attendant rushed her to the changing room, unceremoniously asking her to strip off to her underwear as she slipped the chiffon dress over her head and fasten the zipper up. The evil thing got stuck at her middle back, and she was told to hold her breath as the lady pushed and squeezed parts of her body that no other woman besides her mom had the audacity to ever touch before. After struggling for a hellishly long couple of minutes, the attendant gave up, stating that they'd have to find a bigger size. (And she was genuinely fucking sorry she wasn't a size 0, but in her opinion her professional ass should have realized that before digging her freaking nails in her back.)

The attendant took her measures and informed her that she would have to come again when the new dress was available. Fuming with anger, she put her clothes back on as the other woman walked into the back of the store.

Gray was waiting for her at the sample room, flipping the pages of some outdated magazine to kill time. He raised his gaze when she entered the room, an expectant expression that soon turned into a confused one. Why wasn't she wearing her gown?

"Don't ask." She warned him before he could say anything.

"Heh–" He watched her walk towards him holding a colorful book in her hands.

"I have to choose the color, and it better be a damn good one." She opened the book, which turned out to be a color catalogue with rectangular shreds of fabric and a name label on the side. "If I have to wear this thing, you can be sure as hell that I'm gonna look good on it."

He chuckled at her words, "I'm sure you will."

"Well, white is the universal theme color for weddings, right? That's an easy choice."

"Isn't it a faux pas to wear white in a wedding?" He said tentatively.

"How do you even know that?" She questioned him with a suspicious look.

"You asked for my help, I did my homework." He replied proudly.

"Alright, so white is out of the question." She huffed, "Well, let's make it black."

"It's a wedding, Juvia-chan, not a funeral."

She threw him a murderous look. "_Fine_. How about navy blue?"

"My original statement stands." He said stubbornly.

"Well, shit. Those are my favorite colors. Why does everything have to be pink and gross? Don't we have enough of that on Valentine's Day? It's just a freaking wedding, for fuck's sake. It's not a goddammed contest to see who can last longer without puking out at the cheesiness of the stupid decorations and overly sweet appetizers."

"Pink is not so bad." He grinned at her, amused by her heated outburst. "I think you'd look absolutely beautiful in pink."

She pursed her lips, tilting her head to the side and shooting him a meaningful look. "My hair is fucking blue, I'd look totally hideous in pink."

He shook his head in denial, "Nothing can make you look bad, Juvia-chan. Regardless of what you wear. But if it really bothers you that much, how about this pallet?"

She eyed at the color card he was holding in his hand, "Purple?"

"Yeah, it really brings out the color of your hair." He said cheerfully, a dorky smile in his face. "And your eyes too."

"Huh, I guess it's not so terrible. I kinda like this one." She said pointing at a shade of dark violet.

"Err… Actually… that color is… sort of sad…?" He said apologetically, scratching the back of his head.

She rolled her eyes at his input. "What, are you a fashion guru all of a sudden?"

He ignored her comment and ran his finger though the different shades in the color card, "I think you'd look breathtaking in this."

She squinted her eyes, cocking her head to the side as if a better angle would make the tonality less insulting.

"Lilac." She hummed, "I guess I can live with that. Anything that won't make me look like a stupid Barbie."

"Lilac it is, then!" Gray smiled cheerfully, overjoyed that she would actually take his advice. "Shall we celebrate with a hug?" He asked, opening his arms invitingly.

"No." She said curtly, smacking the color catalogue against his chest and turning her back on him before stepping away to the counter.

"So mean, Juvia-chan!" He pouted as he picked the booklet from the floor where it landed and rushed behind her. "Don't I deserve a little reward for helping you out?"

She swirled on her heels and suddenly reached her hand out to his face, and for a split of a second he thought she was going to punch him. He blinked in surprise when her fingers brushed slightly against his lips, stuffing something inside his mouth.

"Here," She said in a calm voice, "Your reward."

His cheeks dusted pink, lips tingling from the blunt, brief touch of her fingers. He tasted the treat in his mouth, and he had to admit that chocolate candy had never ever ever _ever _tasted so good in his entire life.

She unwrapped another candy and put it in her mouth, and he almost chocked when he saw the same fingers make contact with her own lips. (Wasn't that sort of an indirect kiss!?)

She squinted at him, brows furrowed in a frown and totally oblivious of the thoughts running in his mind.

"Is there something in my face?" She asked.

Coughing with difficulty and trying not to lose the candy in his mouth –or swallow it whole, at that–, he replied "N-No! Y-You're fine, Juvia-chan."

"_Mm…_" She uttered absentmindedly, savoring the candy with her tongue. "Damn, this shit is good."

"Yeah," He agreed in a dreamy voice, a dorky smile spreading across his lips. "Best I've ever had in my whole life."

She looked at him curiously, and an idea suddenly occurred to him. "C-Can I have o-one more, Juvia-chan?" He asked, face burning red and hoping he would hand-feed him again.

"Sure." She said matter-of-factly, making his heart flutter with joy in his chest.

Disappointment filled in when he watched her take a handful and stuff them in the pocket of his outer coat.

"Don't feel bad, for what they charge in here they can buy a damn truck full of these. Besides, it's Natsu's money."

He tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. "T-That's…"

"Shit, what time is it?" She jolted abruptly, checking her watch. "Crap, I have to go now. Can you take it over from here?"

"S-Sure, but where are you going?" His lower lip jutted out a bit, upset that she was leaving so soon.

"I have to help Lucy choose her lingerie." She said, hanging her purse over her shoulder and hurrying to the door. Holding it slightly open, she peeked at him over her shoulder with a devious smirk."Wanna come?"

"H–Ahh!?" He flinched, his face scorching hot at the mental image.

She chuckled at his reaction, a genuine smile of amusement spreading on her lips. "Yeah, I thought so. See you later then. Have fun with the dresses."

The wind chime hanging on the doorframe tinkled cheerfully as she exited the room, and his response came a little too late for her to hear. "Huh, sure. You too! Have fun with the… with the–"

"Excuse me, sir?" The shop assistant called, a chubby middle-aged lady with golden trimmed spectacles and kind smile. "Have you made your decision yet?"

"Oh, yes." He hurried to say in an apologetic tone, going through the pages of the color catalogue until he found the right one. "We'll take this color."

"Nice choice." The lady complimented, nodding her head in approval. "Your girlfriend will look absolutely lovely in that color."

"I know, right?" He beamed at her, a dreamy look in his eyes.

* * *

**A/N: **To be totally brutally honest with you I have never in my life finished a multi-chapter story (okay, there was this fic I DID finish but then I wrote a sequel and… right. Anyways.). I did make an oath that I would never ever publish another multi-chap without having the whole story finished (and now you know why I have 500 WIP in the making).

I have half of chapter two done, so if you think this is worth continuing, the** review** box is down there!


	2. Dressed Down

**A/N:** I wish I had a legit reason why I neglected this fic for over 8 months. _I don't_. I'm garbage. And honestly multichaps **drain me**. This was a bad idea to start with. You can tell I'm so drained by this cuz the whole chapter is utter garbage. I'm SORRY.

Thanks and credits to** Storyquipster** and **Muffindragon227** for plot ideas and lines.

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* * *

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The lingerie shop was only two blocks away, and Juvia was there in about ten minutes.

Lucy averted her gaze from the lacy black corset she was checking and grinned at her arrival, "You made it!" She greeted, a slightly surprised look on her eyes, "I thought you ditched me again."

Pursing her lips into a frown, Juvia readjusted the strap of her purse over her shoulder as she walked towards her ungrateful friend and grumbled, "For your information, I was busy fulfilling my MOH duties and trying the damn gown on."

"Ah, so _finally_." The blonde said, rising her eyebrows in a dramatic fashion, "How did that go?"

"_Terribly,_ thanks for asking." She clenched her jaw, irritated at the memory of the earlier incident, "Did you give them Levy's measures? The damn thing was tight as hell."

"Was it? They must have mistaken them." Lucy flippantly said, dismissing the matter with a flick of her hand as she picked a baby blue satin bra from the shelf and squinted at it, asking, "What color did you choose?"

Juvia rolled her eyes and shook her head in resignation before saying under her breath, "Liliac."

Turning her face abruptly, Lucy's lips quirked up in a mix of amusement and disbelief.

"_Wow_, I'm impressed. No navy blue?" she teased.

The blue-haired woman sighed in response, "Trust me, I tried but Gray said_—_"

"_Gray_?" Her friend interrupted, a wicked grin on her face, "Did you come with him?"

Juvia averted her gaze, shifting her weight uncomfortably in an attempt to shake off the awkwardness, "Yeah, well… _someone _had to show me the way."

"_Interesting._" The blonde taunted as her eyes scanned the scratches on her back. "What happened to you there, did you guys get kinky or what?"

"_Wha—?_ No!" she said indignantly, cheeks blushing a faint shade of rose at the scandalous insinuation. "This is your dresser's fucking fingernails. She tried to smother me into that tiny dress."

"Hah," Lucy laughed before switching her attention back to her searching task, "I thought you finally made the move. Honestly, when are you putting the man out of his misery?"

Juvia folded her arms across her chest grumpily and retorted back, "I wasn't aware that he was miserable in any way, but even if that's the case, it is neither my place nor my intention to do anything about it."

"You're _kidding_." Her friend threw her an incredulous look and dramatically tossed away the neon pink nightgown she'd been scowling at, "You're not aware that the man's been crazy in love with you for the last 5 years?"

Feigning a sudden interest in the golden silk robe in front of her, she ran her fingers through the smooth fabric in an attempt to avoid Lucy's piercing glare, "Well that's _his_ problem, not mine."

"You are heartless." Lucy huffed, shaking her head disapprovingly as she moved on to the next section. Juvia followed her behind, hands on her pockets as Lucy's skimmed over a collection of lacy thongs, "It wouldn't kill you to give him a chance, you know."

She tilted her head as if weighing the accuracy of her statement, "No, but it'd probably kill _him_. And I'm not living with that."

Lucy smiled triumphantly, a knowing look on her eyes that filled the blue haired woman with the urge of strangling her friend with the stupid tiny piece of lingerie she was holding, "So you _do_ care, huh?"

Juvia's eyes rolled back with exasperation as she replied, "We're friends. Of course I care about him. Why on earth would I want to ruin that with some romantic bullcrap?"

"So were Natsu and I, and look at us now." She said matter-of-factly.

Juvia shot her a meaningful glare, "I don't' want to _marry him_, Lucy."

"…_Yet_." The blonde added, cocking her head to the side as a wicked grin spread across her lips.

"_Ever_." She corrected.

Lucy shook her head disapprovingly, which made the bluenette smile in a short-lived victory.

"So you're saying you don't like him, even a little bit?" The blonde asked nonchalantly as she swirled a display shelf full of sparkly accessories.

She tugged a blue curl behind her ear and pursed her lips, ignoring the sudden warmth that threatened to taint her cheeks rose, "I don't. So you can _please_ drop the subject?"

Lucy sighed, defeated by her friend's stubbornness, "Well, that's a total shame. He's a keeper."

Juvia rolled her eyes for the nth time, "Just because you're getting married doesn't mean we all have to start looking for boyfriend material."

"Well, this one is pretty much _husband _material, if you ask me."

Pinching the bridge of her nose with frustration, the blue-haired woman groaned, "For the last time, Lucy: _not interested_. Stop selling him to me like girl scout cookies,_ jeez_."

"Okay, _fine_, miss cranky." The blonde finally conceded, holding out a set of rather extravagant underwear _—_ crimson red with matching lace trimming, the fabric so sheer it didn't really leave much to the imagination. "Try this one on."

"_Me?_" Her nose wrinkled into a confused expression, brows knitting together into a frown, "I thought I was helping _you _choose."

"You can't wear your granny panties under that beautiful dress, can you?" Lucy reasoned in a mischievous tone, "Come on, just humor me!"

She huffed with exasperation and rudely snatched the garment from her hands, "You're _so _annoying_._ _Fine_. As long as it shuts you up." And she made her way to the changing room, refusing to look at the thing and grumbling to herself all the time.

When she locked herself inside the stall and started undressing, she heard Lucy shout for the whole store to hear, "Besides, I'm sure Gray would love that on you!"

"_LUCY!_" Juvia growled indignantly from the closed compartment, only to be met with the blonde's teasing laughter.

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* * *

.

He picked up at the second ring of the tone and there were flipping sounds at the other side of the line, suggesting his cellphone slipped out of his hands and he had to juggler it back to his grasp. She pursed her lips into a frown and gathered all of her patience to wait for him to get his shit together.

"H-Hello? Juvia-chan?" He greeted breathlessly, his voice ecstatic by the excitement of receiving a phone call from her.

Jeez, one would think he would get used to it after _years _of knowing each other, but no.

"I_ lost_ it." She said without preambles.

"What have you lost, Juvia-chan?" He asked, concern clear on his tone.

"Lucy's lingerie," She clarified, pressing the back of her hand against her forehead, right where she could feel the start of a headache, "I can't find it, I've looked everywhere!"

"Lucy's _—what?_" He choked on the other side of the line.

"Yes, the underwear she bought for her wedding night." She said impatiently.

"You mean her_—_?"

"_Yes, dammit_! Her undergarments, her love costume, her fuck gear... whatever the hell you want to call it!" She exploded, losing her last strand of patience, "I can't find that shit anywhere, and she asked me to help her keep it from Natsu. And now I fucking lost it. What am I gonna do now? She's going to_ kill me_."

"Uh_—_ well… Why don't you buy her another one?" He suggested in a tentative tone.

Silence.

"Hello? Are you still there?"

"Yes," She finally replied, snapping out of it, "Of course! I should do that! Damn, I just freaked out for a moment. You're right, though."

"Y-You think so? Thank you!" She could practically hear the smile on his voice. What a dork.

"Yeah, I should probably get her a new one. Fuck, that shit was expensive, some limited edition crap…"

"If you want, I could_—_"

"Can you give me a ride there?" She interrupted him, "I'd take the bus, but it's_—_"

"YES! _Yes,_ I will take you there!" He blurted in a rush, afraid that she would change her mind. "What time do I pick you up?"

"Huh_—_" She hesitated, "Is two o'clock okay for you?"

"I'll be there." He said in a solemn tone, and she couldn't help but smile in resignation.

"Thank you, um..." She mumbled, chewing on her lip. "You're a real lifesaver."

"Anything you need me to be, Juvia-chan." He replied cheerfully, and she felt a small bit of guilt stir inside her.

Seriously, he should stop saying awkward shit like that. It almost made her feel bad about it.

_Almost_.

"Bye" She mumbled hastily, hanging up before he could reply.

Throwing the phone on her bed, she covered her face with her hands and laid her back against the mattress.

What the fuck. Now was not the time to over analyze things. It wasn't as if anything changed in all the time they've known each other, right?

That conversation she had with Lucy just fucked her up.  
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* * *

.

"What do you mean a '_limited edition' _has no replicas?" Juvia inquired, unable to grasp the situation.

The attendant inhaled deeply, letting out a controlled sigh that ended in a professional, fake smile, "Miss, I've already explained to you_—"_

"But you_ must_ be able to order more, right? The wedding is _months away_, we can wait."

"There's only 100 existing pieces in the world_—"_

"_Please don't say—_"

"—And your friend bought the very last one."

"_Dammit!_"

"But we have other models you might be interested in_."_ The sales lady suggested.

Ignoring the lady's comment, she turned to Gray and sulked, "I'm dead. Lucy's gonna kill me. Don't bring flowers to my funeral. I hate flowers."

"Don't be like that, Juvia-chan! You can always buy her a similar model, Mm… maybe she won't notice?"

"How stupid do you think she—" She paused, eyes opening widely as a wicked grin spread across her face, "_Oh my God_, I could buy her a similar one. She totally won't notice as long as Natsu likes it."

"There." He chortled, amused by her swift mood changes, "You're a genius, Juvia-chan."

She threw him a menacing look that clearly stated _don't make me kill you yet_.

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* * *

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"If you get a boner I will kick your ass." She said unapologetically.

He frowned at her threat, "You know, that's sort of unfair if you think of the situation…"

"The situation being I rather die of malaria or jump into an alligator's cove than do this in front of Natsu." She deadpanned, "I trust you. And I trust you to know what Natsu likes, so don't be a dick about it."

"Alright," He conceded, vaguely unconvinced, "I will not… _overthink _it."

"Just pretend I'm Lucy, okay?"

"That's… slightly disturbing, but okay."

"I'm coming out."

She stepped out of the changing room wearing a modest white bustier with a sweetheart neckline and a low back. The boning was pronounce and it had delicate floral laces tracing the inner edge of the cup and dipping down into the bodice leaving a small triangle of exposure just below her cleavage. Hands on her hips, where a sheer lacy garter belt secured a pair of whit stockings, she scowled at him.

He tried not to choke, half of his face hidden behind a lacy-edged pink cushion that seemed pale in comparison with the bright scarlet shade of his face. Steam coming out of his ears and eyes wide open, he forgot how to blink.

"Well…?" Juvia inquired, cocking a questioning brow at his flustered expression.

After struggling to formulate words in an understandable language, he managed to utter, "No."

"'_No'_, Seriously?" She asked skeptically as she crossed her arms across her chest, a mix of amusement and disbelief in her voice, "Then care to explain why you're looking like a _dying whale_?"

The raven haired boy cleared his throat before saying defensively, "It's not what _I_ like, right? It's what_ Natsu_ likes."

"And you don't think he will." Unconvinced, she questioned.

He shook his head frantically, lips pressed into a thin line.

"_Liar_." She accused, "Are you saying this to make me try another one? And why do I feel like you're enjoying this?"

"Not at all!" He was fast to deny, feigning a painful grimace, "I'm pretending you're Lucy."

She was torn between bursting a laugh and throwing the hangers at his smug grin, "You suck as bad as your poker face."

Gray scratched his cheek apologetically, a break of sweat on his temple, "Y-You really think that?"

She hummed affirmatively and switched her attention to the full size mirror on the door, "Nice try. No, in fact, _terrible_ try. You're a terrible liar, which is _kinda—_"

_Cute? Charming? Sweet? Adorable?_

"Yes…?" He asked expectantly.

"—_pathetic_."

"_Oh,_"

She clicked her tongue disapprovingly at the sight of his sulking expression, "Stop looking like that, it's annoying."

Immediately, he offered her a dorky grin, "Sorry, Juvia-chan."

Not sure whether to scoff or smile at his fast recovery, she rolled her eyes instead, "_Whatever_. Asking for your help was a bad idea. You're completely useless if you can't think with your head."

Before he could protest, the sales lady walked in, "Sir, would you like a cup of tea while you wait for your girlfriend?"

"Oh, I'm not his_—_"

"That would be lovely, thanks!"

"—girlfriend."

"It's _complicated_." Gray said meekly at the confused attendant, who flickered her gaze between the odd couple.

"No, it's _not_!" Juvia barked irritably as she threw daggers with her ice-cold stare, "He's not my boyfriend and I'm not trying anything else."

When she closed herself into the changing room to change back, she heard him say "Some tea would be nice, though."

To which she almost shouted, "_Try not to choke on it!_"

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* * *

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Lucy was extremely aggravated when she called her that night, and Juvia had a very hard time trying to control her own temper.

"Fucking _chill out_, bitch. Who lit the fuse on your tampon?"

"_ ._" Lucy uttered in a sardonic tone, "I _swear to God,_ Juvia. I'm about _this close _to kill you."

"The fuck did_ I _do?" The bluenette snapped defensively. If she was going down, she might as well learn the reason why.

There was a bitter laugh at the other side of the line, "_The fuck you didn't._ You were supposed to help me hide the wedding lingerie from Natsu!"

_Ah, so she found out._

"Well, about that_—_"

"Was it too much to ask, Juvia? You couldn't just _take the fucking thing with you_, could you?"

_What?_

"What?"

"You still have no clue, do you?" Lucy's voice high pitched as she dropped her last pretense of patience, "You_ left_ it_. The very fucking thing I told you to hide from__** him**__. _In his car_. His car, _Juvia, where he_ found it_!"

_What._

"No."

"_Yes._"

"No."

The blonde growled in frustration, "What already happened is not up for _discussion_, you_ tw—_"

"Question." Juvia interrupted abruptly.

"_What._" He friend spat rudely.

"Do you need a new one?"

Lucy scoffed, "No, I don't need_— _I don't _want_ a new one, fucking_ dammit_!"

"Say, hypothetically… If I get you a new one_—_"

"Shit can't be _—fucking—_ undone." A deep, tired sigh came from the telephone line, "Listen, I know you are shit at this. Fuck, I know you probably hate this. But there is literally no one else I would want for my maid of honor. You are an _awfu_l friend sometimes, but I'm equally as shit, so I really can't talk here," The blonde chuckled wryly, "Just, _know this_, okay? I appreciate you doing this, but _please don't fuck me up again_."

_Oh, sweet_. Emotional blackmail. Just what she needed to end up her already fucked-up day.

Half-groaning as she let out a dramatic, resigned sighed, Juvia promised, "I won't."

.

* * *

**.**

**A/N:** Next chapter? _Hahahahaha_, wait, _**what**_ next chapter? You think I'm gonna continue this? pfft you're cute. I'm an **asshole**. See you in 2088 probably.


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